


Magic and Moonlight

by likebunnies



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Smut, I will never not try to fix it, Ichabbie Holloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 07:39:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12601580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebunnies/pseuds/likebunnies
Summary: Ichabod Crane is being followed around by a raven.





	Magic and Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Two Ichabbie fans on Tumblr asked for a Halloween fic with a raven in it. This is what I came up with. I will always try to fix the mess that show made. Ichabod and Abbie belong together in any form.

Ever since he had sold his soul to the devil, a bird seemed to be following him. Maybe one had nothing to do with the other since he didn't feel any different without a soul. He didn't turn evil. He didn't stop caring about the situation the world was in. All that was really different was this bird. 

Wherever Crane went, there was always this one particular large corvid not too far behind. It wasn't one of the normal crows that seemed to be everywhere this time of year. No, it was bigger. Its beak was different, not as straight as a crow's. And it seemed far more intelligent than any bird he had ever seen before. He wondered if some sort of coven was trying to contact him but even after a few days, the bird never approached him with a message. It just showed up in various trees and on assorted utility poles wherever he might be. Waiting and watching but for what, he did not know. 

After a week, Crane decided to call it Muninn, after one of Odin's two ravens. A few days later, the bird seemed to notice when he called its name and would shake its glossy feathered head at him. Or maybe he was imagining all of it. It had been weeks since he had slept well at night in his grim apartment on his IKEA bed and he was a little “off” these days. Or maybe he was looking for the supernatural in anything and everything. Maybe he was looking for something that had been lost. Something that had come back to him. 

It would be easier if the bird could speak instead of just nodding and preening its feathers. Why couldn't he be followed around by a macaw that could at least 'parrot' words back at him. Or Poe's raven, speaking one word only. That would be enough, wouldn't it? Maybe not if the word was “nevermore” and it had to do with his lost love. 

Of course, the answer was already nevermore when it came to that person. To Abbie. 

Crane looked up at the raven and it looked back at him, cocking its head to the side. He had been reading up on corvids and he thought that judging by this bird's size, it was probably female. He thought about changing her name to something more feminine but instead just called her Nin for short. A few times he had gotten mad at her antics and called her 'Nincompoop' but that made her angry and she would drop small, shiny objects on him from above. Bottle caps and gum wrappers and stray pieces of wire would come at him from the sky. 

A few people would stare at him as he talked to this wild bird but he was used to this. A man in colonial garb talking to a random black bird in a tree was probably an oddity in most neighborhoods. At least since the leaves had turned to scarlet, gold, and orange, he could spot Nin easily. It would become easier once the leaves all fell off. 

He had to wonder if the bird would stay here during the winter... one more thing he'd have to look up about ravens. He was becoming quite the master of ravens the longer this bird kept following him around. Over time, he didn't feel that she was a witch's familiar or any kind of demon. If the bird was either of those, she didn't seem to ever be doing anything for her cause. He had never really been fond of birds but this one... it was different. 

Others asked how he knew it was the same bird all the time, but he knew it. He could sense it somewhere near even when he was in his apartment. He considered opening his windows to see if it would fly in but wasn't sure what he'd do with her then. Clip her wings and force her to keep him company? Was he that lonely?

That night, he did leave a window open to the crisp autumn air yet no bird flew in to join him. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The trees lost their leaves and snow fell on the ground. The bird was still around but not as much. It was as if Nin was now comfortable with leaving Crane for a while, sure she'd find him again. Or maybe Crane was overthinking this whole thing. It was a bird. An intelligent variety of bird who did have a history of becoming attached to humans but still a bird. He began to collect all the small objects she would leave for him, assuming they were meant to be gifts. All except the ones she dropped precisely on his head when he did something to make her cross. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. 

He'd see her with her feathers all puffed up on the coldest mornings. Crane would leave his apartment building and nod to her as he made his way to whatever he was working on that day. She would nod back and fly off to God knows where. Sometimes she'd be there when he got home. Sometimes she wouldn't and he'd stare at the leafless tree across from his building, hoping to catch sight of her before he went in for the night. He wondered what she was eating on these coldest of days. He didn't envy her life, always in search of food and with no hope of ordering Chinese take-out. 

As the nights grew even colder, he fashioned a large and cozy bird box on one of his windowsills, tearing up an old shirt of his to use as lining. Not wanting just any bird in there, he devised a puzzle she'd have to solve to get through the door and watched and waited to see if she would figure it out. The weather was getting extreme and he was getting worried when Nin finally showed up, figured out the puzzle in under a minute, and settled in for the night. Crane smiled knowing she was safe. 

Others told him to get a pet but this wasn't a pet at all. She had all the freedom she needed. He didn't pretend to be this bird's owner. He could watch out for her without clipping her wings and forcing her into a cage. 

Even though she wasn't a pet, she did fill a void in his life. And he appreciated that. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

It was nearly spring but the March air was still bitterly cold. After a late night chasing a demon through the tunnels under DC, Crane stumbled into his apartment, took off his coat, and wanted nothing more than to now pull off his boots and collapse on his bed. Instead, Nin was tapping insistently on his window. This was new. She normally just went into her box and spent the night quietly. 

He looked at her through the glass and the raven stared back with eyes he could swear he had seen before. She seemed to trying to get him to do something. To follow her. She could have been making normal raven noises but he could have sworn that first time ever, she called out his name. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Crane.”

“Wait by the front door. I'll be there in a minute,” he said, holding up his index finger as he put his coat back on. He rushed out of the apartment building and through the front doors to find Nin waiting for him in her tree. She flew from tree to tree, leading him somewhere. He hurried to keep up with her and to make sure he didn't lose sight of her when she led them into a park. Nin flew into the middle of an empty baseball field and fluttered to the ground, the grass still brown from winter and covered in a light layer of frost now. 

Suddenly Nin was no longer Nin but was turning into something else. The bird was surrounded by a silvery light and was changing form. He had seen a lot in his day and nothing should surprise him anymore. Nothing. But this... this was enough to make it almost impossible to speak any words. 

“Abbie?” he finally managed to ask, afraid he was going to pass out right here in the middle of this cold field near second base, the full moon shining bright above them. 

Her transformation was beautiful, going quickly from a bird to his partner in a matter of seconds. She stood before him wearing a glossy, black outfit complete with boots. But she had on no coat and he shed his own quickly and offered it to her. She took it from him and wrapped it over shoulders. 

“Hello, Crane,” she said, reaching up to softly touch his face. 

“What's happening?” he asked her, still having trouble forming words. “You're dead.”

“I was dead and now I'm not. You know death isn't always permanent. You know that better than anyone,” Abbie said, her hand still resting upon his cheek. She was warm... and she smelled like the Abbie he remembered and he hoped that this wasn't some sort of trick but was really his Abbie. 

“But... but... I'm confused. Why a raven?” he asked her, his hand now going to hers and covering it. 

“A crane would be too obvious,” she said with a smile. “Ravens are smart birds who can remember faces. As long as I was going to be a bird, I wanted to remember your face so I could find you over and over again.”

“I'm glad you did.”

“Plus, certain legends say that ravens can steal souls. Did you know that?” she asked, moving her hand. His followed along and their fingers ended up entwined, grasping onto one another. They began walking, holding hands, in no particular direction. 

“I did read that, when I was trying to figure out why this particular bird were following me,” he said. 

“Crane, I stole your soul back from the devil himself and you didn't even know it. That's why I picked this particular bird. So I could do that for you. You've had your soul back since about two days after you traded it to him,” Abbie said, squeezing his hand in hers. 

He stopped walking abruptly, jerking her back to him. Crane's face couldn't hide his shock at this news. He had been worried about how he was ever going to get his soul back and Abbie had done it for him. He could only imagine it was so they could be together in the afterlife forever. 

“You are locked in this existence because of my soul?” he asked. She had already given up enough for him. This wasn't what he wanted. 

“I can fly because of this existence and I will someday get to return to heaven. And now you will be there, too. You can join me like this, you know.”

“As a bird... as a raven?” he asked incredulously, the pitch of his voice rising on the word raven. 

“Yes, most of the time. But sometimes, like right now, we can be human together.” 

“Why are you human right now?” he asked. 

“Magic and moonlight,” she said with a sly grin. 

“Yes, I know all about magic. I've read the Harry Potter books and even though I am a Ravenclaw... I'm not sure that means I should be a raven,” he said. 

“You were married to a witch,” she said, wrinkling her brow at his comment. 

“That, too,” he said with a sigh, then shook the thought out of his head. “But why can you be in this form now? How can you be you?”

“The Crow Moon,” she said, pointing up to the full moon above them. 

“Once a year? During the Lenten Moon? We can be human?” he asked, still sounding like out of all the things he had seen in his life, this was the one thing he wasn't going to believe. 

“It's the best I can do. Once a year together as humans is better than never,” she said. “The rest of the time, you can be the Huginn to my Muninn. We'll be able to fly, Crane. Fly anywhere.”

“But what about my mission? As a Witness?” he asked. 

“When it's time, someone else will take over the cause. It will be passed on,” she said. 

“Even though I haven't died?” he asked. 

“It's going to be hard to fulfill your Biblical obligations as a raven...”

“But...” 

“You can think about it.”

“For how long?” he asked. 

“Until the sun comes up. I can only be here like this until the sun comes up,” she said. Before he could say another word, she grabbed him and pulled him to her. They both stumbled from the force and she ended up with his arms enfolding her, hugging her tight. His mind raced to count down the hours to sunrise and he knew how he wanted to spend that time with her. If she wanted. Judging by the way she had put her hands on his face and was standing on her toes for a kiss, he realized that she had the same thoughts, too. 

Her mouth met his, silencing the hundreds of questions he still had for her about her life as a raven and how if would be if he decided to become like her. Instead of asking anything, he got lost in the feel of her lips on his. So warm. So soft. So... Abbie. 

“Home,” she mumbled in between kisses. “Yours, obviously. We won't fit in mine.”

“I would have built you a birdhouse castle had I known,” he said as she tugged him in the direction of his apartment. “I would have done anything for me.”

“Oh, really? You called me nincompoop once, Crane,” she said and he tried to explain. 

“You dropped bottle caps on my head,” he said in his defense. 

“I missed you so much. So much I would have done anything to get your attention,” she said, the two of them stumbling up the front steps to his apartment building. 

“I too have missed you, Lieutenant. So much so I thought that this bird was a sign from you... and it was. I don't know how or why–”

She shut him up with one more kiss before they made it to his door. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

He worshiped every inch of her body. Her skin was smooth and flawless as his lips brushed across all her curves and his tongue delved into everywhere it could. She practically purred as she came for the second time that hour. 

“I'm ever so thankful you don't make bird sounds,” he said, lifting his head from between her thighs to look at her. He was half off the bed and it was the perfect place to see all of her. 

“At least I don't do that... yet,” she said seriously before her face couldn't hide the smile any longer. It was the happiest he had ever seen her, laughing even more when he tickled her inner thighs with his bearded face. She pleaded for him to join her on the bed so he crawled up until he was over her, her hand going deftly between them as she guided him into her body. He had forgotten how hot it was. How wet it was. How wonderfully tight around him... he almost forgot to move until she nudged him along. 

He looked into her eyes, praying that this wasn't some sort of dream or illusion. Her eyes searched his and she smiled. 

“I'm real,” she said as if she could read his mind. She wrapped her legs high around his waist, letting him slip in even deeper. “I'm real and I want you... I...” 

She lost the ability to speak coherently when he got on his knees and yanked her towards him, thrusting harder into her body. She cried out as she came again and he felt the world flash bright around him and fade to nothing. He fell beside her, struggling to catch his breath as her fingers brushed over his chest and across his stomach and over his hipbones. 

“That... I wasn't expecting that... I figured you...” she started to say, struggling to find the words.

“Hadn't done this in a while? This is true. Or that men from my time had no clue how to please a woman?” he asked. Their legs were intertwined and he took one of her hands in his, bringing it to his lips to kiss. “I can assure you that I have had a lot of time to think of all the ways I should have pleasured you, Abbie, and I only wish we had more time because I'd show you every last one of them,”

“Does this mean you're not joining me?” she asked. 

“I have unfinished business here. People I have to make sure are ready. Miss Jenny would have to know I'm not dead. You've seen her stop by, haven't you? That is, when she's back in the country?” Crane asked. 

“I have. I was worried about her, too. Especially with everything she had already lost,” Abbie said. They both fell into silent contemplation of all the things everyone lost. 

“So, being a bird... what do you get to eat? What's it like? Do you miss hot showers and coffee?” Crane asked. “I think I'd miss coffee and tea the most.”

“I missed you more than anything else in the world. And I can't describe my life in that form. It's like I know I'm something else but instinct kicks in. I find food. I find a place to stay. I survived because it meant I could get this one night... and eventually forever with you. When I asked for this, I knew the consequences but I knew I had to take the risk,” she answered. 

“One night a year,” he said, sighing. 

“One night.”

“We better not waste it,” he said, pulling her into a kiss. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Dawn was making its relentless approach. Crane knew that moment when the darkness would be replaced by the cold light of morning was coming way too fast. He couldn't stop it. Abbie was in his kitchen, drinking coffee and eating whatever leftover food she had found in the refrigerator. She had on one of his shirts and he knew he was going to cherish the scent of her on that shirt on on his sheets for as long as he could. 

He had decided. He needed another year to finish things. One year and he'd be ready to give up this existence and try something else. It wasn't an easy decision but Abbie understood. He wanted to finish what they had started together and then they could go off and be... ravens together. 

It sounded preposterous but no more so than being dead for a few centuries and returning to life. He knew there was so much more to this world than what could be easily seen. 

He watched as Abbie put her clothing back on and checked the time over and over. He wasn't sure why she couldn't change form right here in his apartment but she said it had to be under the last light of the moon and the first rays of the sun. He offered to go with her but she said it would be better if she went alone. They could make their goodbyes here instead of in the middle of a field. 

Crane held her in his arms for as long as he could. She clutched the fabric of his bathrobe as if she would never let go and he didn't want her to go but it would just be a year. She would be right there, smart and beautiful as ever outside his window and in the tree dropping shiny objects on his head when she was cross with him. She wouldn't be far. 

He kissed her one more time, hardly able to bear the loss of her lips on his. She let him go and stepped away and he could already feel the loss. 

Just one year. It was only fair to the others. To Jenny. To the next Witness taking over his role. One year. Abbie was nearly to the door when she rushed back for one more hug. He kissed the top of her head as she pulled resolutely from his arms and went out the door. 

One year. One long year. There was no way he could make it without her. It had been foolish of him to ever think he could. 

“Abbie, wait!” he shouted, running barefoot out the door and flying down the hall as fast as he could. “ _Wait!_ ”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The End


End file.
